| The Dune Buggy Club for Dune Buggy Lovers! |
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| Charles' Story So you thought Franks story about selling his truck and going to get his Dune Buggy was wild... This is just as wild and has TORNADO'S! So here we go... When I got back from Florida, I was in love with Frank's Dune Buggy. I have always enjoyed Motorcycle riding (I've been riding for the past 53 years) and Frank's Dune Buggy gave me the same feeling and brought back memories of the past (I had a VW van when my children were smaller, and can remember riding around a singing songs with all 6 of them). A Dune Buggy is like the best of ALL worlds, a car, bike and toy, all in one. A couple of days after the trip to get Frank's Buggy, Frank and I were playing around on the computer and for no reason we started looking at different Buggy's on ebay. Not really looking for a reason or finding anything worth interest, we went about our day. A couple of days later Frank and Sadie (my daughter) come down to my house and tell me that they have found "my buggy". From the moment Sadie saw it she said "It looks like you Dad, you've got to get it"! They pulled the buggy up on the computer and I new that if it went for a price I could afford, this was MY BUGGY! We watched the buggy for a couple of days, and when it came down to the end of the auction, I put in my highest bid. I WON, the buggy was mine! A quick trip to Ohio, and it was going to be sitting in my garage. This time Sadie refused to go. So it was up to Frank and I. Fortunately this time we had a V W tow hitch, loaned to us by a local V W mechanic. So Frank and I planned out our route, made the plans and decided to head out Monday morning. We left Monday morning as planned around 7:00am. We drove 12 hours to a little town outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. The trip there was a breeze with no real complaints. We get to the sellers house and purchased the dune buggy, Frank takes it for a quick ride around the block. No problems, we hitch the buggy up and prepare for the trip home. We drive back to Lexington, KY and decide to stop for the night because of the strong wind. After getting the room, our showers, and hitting the sack, we are awaken from a Tornado warning on the TV. We got up, went down stairs to the lobby, where many other guest had gathered to ride out the storm (this is the same storm system that hit on Super Tuesday, killing 58 people). After the storm had died down, we went outside to check on the Buggy, to our surprise nothing seemed damaged, the Buggy was fine. We go back to bed and get up in the morning, have breakfast, check out and find 4" of WATER IN THE BUGGY. It was totally flooded. Nothing we could do at the Hotel, so we decide to continue on our way. IT RAINED THE ENTIRE WAY HOME! So instead of 4" of rain, when we finally arrive home after a 14 hour drive home, we have 6" of water in the buggy! The next day, Frank cleans out the water and gives it a bath and detail, while I go get the tags and title transferred. I get to his house and we go to crank my buggy and NOTHING!. WATER IN THE ENGINE! So, we tow it down to the mechanics. They go through it from bumper to bumper, and make all the necessary repairs; costing me $400.00 After a mile of driving it, the money I had to spend on the repairs was well worth it. It runs like a champ, and sounds excellent. I have had the buggy for two weeks, and I drive it more than my car and motorcycle combined! |
| Pictures Down Below |
